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A study in living well from Pressed JuiceryFri, 31 Jul 2015 22:38:41 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.9Autumn Arrangements: A Fall Workshop With Our Favorite LA Floristhttp://thechalkboardmag.com/autumn-arrangements-a-fall-workshop-with-our-favorite-local-florist
http://thechalkboardmag.com/autumn-arrangements-a-fall-workshop-with-our-favorite-local-florist#commentsWed, 23 Oct 2013 10:21:37 +0000http://thechalkboardmag.com/?p=41690Last weekend, we ventured downtown to visit one of our favorite shops, Poketo, for one of their fall workshops. We arrived to find a generous spread from Heirloom LA and a store filled with flowers, pomegranate stems and a ready set of florists-to-be from as far as New York and San Francisco.
The traveling bloom-lovers didn't surprise us. We ourselves are obsessed with this Instagram star and workshop host Yasmine Khatib, an adorable LA-based florist whose work borrows from weekend trips to densely forested mountains and a childhood of summers in the French countryside. Her gorgeous arrangements seem to spring to life from 17th century still lifes and onto some of LA's most stunning tabletops.
What we love most about Yasmine's original arrangements is her inclusion of seasonal, and even edible, materials (not that anyone was hungry - check out those goodies from Heirloom!) To the workshop, she brought stems full of local, organic pomegranates, an lush addition to any autumn table. Attendees learned to work the fruits into their own gorgeous arrangements. We snapped this floral mayhem in action and picked up a few tips from Yasmine. Use her guidance to construct your own fall centerpieces and bookmark these tips for your Thanksgiving spread!]]>http://thechalkboardmag.com/autumn-arrangements-a-fall-workshop-with-our-favorite-local-florist/feed1Organic Garden Tour: An Eco-Resort On the Mendocino Coasthttp://thechalkboardmag.com/organic-garden-tour-an-eco-resort-on-the-mendocino-coast
http://thechalkboardmag.com/organic-garden-tour-an-eco-resort-on-the-mendocino-coast#commentsTue, 15 Oct 2013 10:15:26 +0000http://thechalkboardmag.com/?p=40245We're sharing a glimpse of life in an organic garden just ripe for this heavenly time of year! A few hours drive up from San Francisco, the Stanford Inn sits on the seaside cliffs of the Mendocino coast, a unique and sustainable property with so much wellness education to offer we find ourselves overwhelmed by their service menu! Every aspect of this eco-resort is built and managed in tune with it's (jaw-droppingly gorgeous) environment and guests of the inn have access to everything from wild foraging trips, to traditional herb classes and gardening workshops within it's certified organic gardens.
We asked The Stanford Inn's head gardener, Jaime Jensen, to give us a tour of her harvest-ready garden, including the bright red stalks of one of our favorite grains, which we'd never actually seen grown! Here is Jaime...
The Chalkboard Mag: What is grown in the Inn's gardens and how did you decide what to plant?Jaime Jensen: There are four categories of plants that I grow:
Vegetables for Ravens [the Inn's restaurant]: kale, chard, lettuce, mixed greens, potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, leeks, scallions,edible flowers and herbs.
Grains as teaching tools: I often meet people in the garden who are very interested in growing grains. This year we have small sections of quinoas, wheat, rye, and triticale.
Flowers: We grow fresh flowers for the inn and for weddings hosted at the Inn.
Medicinal: We grow medicinal plants for Three Springs Institute, the Chinese medicine center on site.
TCM: How long has the garden been around for and what inspired its beginnings?
JJ: Before we began Stanford Inn’s Big River Nurseries, the land had been gardens from the 1800s up until 1911. At that time, the land was divided into small plots and rented to Chinese gardeners, who grew produce for the lumber company cooks. Because of that, the farm was called “The China Gardens” and there was a significant spring to provide water. In 1985, five years after purchasing the Stanford Inn, Joan and Jeff Stanford began composting all food wastes from breakfast and landscaping cuttings, completed a new leach field, and decided to reinstate the original gardens. Jeff and Kris Williams double dug the first beds in October of that year, having prepped the land by green manuring with crimson clover. A short time later, Jeff changed his mind from simply landscaping and creating a small cut-flower garden, and decided to make the land a vegetable garden instead.
In 1988, Master Gardener Dana Ecelberger introduced the concept of leaving wild spaces to preserve habitats for birds and reptiles – our "pesticides.”
Currently, I see the gardens as a safe and nurturing place for people to relax and engage in the natural systems that support them.
TCM: Where did your passion for gardening come from?
JJ: I was lucky enough to grow up in an area with a lot of wild lands, with a family that has a great appreciation for those lands. I think my love of wild things in nature ultimately drew me to sustainable farming. Well, that and I also love cooking, and there is nothing that tastes better than vegetables from the garden.
TCM: What 'kind' of garden is the Stanford Inn Garden?
JJ: We use a lot of bio-intensive methods, with some Stanford flare. We are also certified organic.
TCM: Your favorite time of year as a gardener:
JJ: Right now it is fall, but it changes with the seasons!
TCM: Do you grow medicinal or non-food-purpose plants?
JJ: We have a large section of gardens dedicated to Chinese and western medicine herbs.
TCM: You grow quinoa, which we've never seen in a garden before. How is it harvested?
JJ: When the seeds are mature, we cut the plant at the base and hang it upside down to dry. When the quinoa is dry and brittle, we clean the seeds by using seed screens to separate the chaff from the seed. The last step is winnowing, which is a process using the wind to remove the last of the chaff.TCM: What's the strangest thing you grow in the garden?
JJ: Espazote. It's an herb used mostly in beans.
TCM: Your favorite thing grown in the garden:
JJ: It’s like asking a mother to choose her favorite child...
TCM: Most rewarding moment in gardening:
JJ: We have interns and guests who work in the garden occasionally, some for long periods of time, some for shorter periods of time. I think that the most rewarding part of gardening is getting to work with this group of people. It is amazing the way that a garden can change lives.
TCM: What are your five best tips for home gardeners in California?
JJ: Love the plants. Accept the failures. Work hard, but don’t stress. Take time to observe. Treat pests with the same compassion that you would treat humans.
TCM: Best thing to grow first for a beginner:
JJ: Whatever is most interesting to the person growing.
TCM: Recommended resource, tool or book:
JJ: How to Grow More Vegetables (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) by John Jeavons.
TCM: Best tip for "green" gardening:
JJ: Grow soil.
TCM: Fall recipe at the Inn from the garden:
JJ: Here's a recipe from the Inn's Ravens Restaurant for Rustic Savory Autumn Roasted Apple, a stuffed apple with a side of root vegetables and greens, for you to enjoy.
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[olists num=3]]]>http://thechalkboardmag.com/organic-garden-tour-an-eco-resort-on-the-mendocino-coast/feed3At Home with California Designer Cheyann Benedicthttp://thechalkboardmag.com/at-home-with-california-designer-cheyann-benedict
http://thechalkboardmag.com/at-home-with-california-designer-cheyann-benedict#commentsWed, 17 Jul 2013 09:55:27 +0000http://thechalkboardmag.com/?p=36166What do you do after you've crafted the world's perfect T-shirt? If you're Cheyann Benedict, you take a little time for yourself, travel the world - and get inspired for another fashion adventure!
When Cheyann Benedict co-launched C&C California with its cult status, soft-as-can-be T-shirts, it wasn't long until she'd whipped the world into its very first high-low luxury T-shirt frenzy!
Fast-forward into the fashion present and we find Cheyann at the cusp of a whole new trend in her namesake fashion line, Cheyann Benedict, that includes the California-cool pieces you might expect, as well as homewares and accessories with the nature-inspired, yet high-end feel we know our readers will go ga-ga for.
We joined Cheyann for an intimate gathering of girlfriends at her Hollywood Hills home where we dined on treats straight from her garden and sipped her famously delicious herbal tea lattes.]]>http://thechalkboardmag.com/at-home-with-california-designer-cheyann-benedict/feed3Skincare Journey: An Egyptian Jasmine Harvesthttp://thechalkboardmag.com/amala-beauty-egyptian-jasmine-harvest
http://thechalkboardmag.com/amala-beauty-egyptian-jasmine-harvest#commentsWed, 20 Mar 2013 17:05:56 +0000http://thechalkboardmag.com/?p=25540]]>http://thechalkboardmag.com/amala-beauty-egyptian-jasmine-harvest/feed6Cuttings From The Beautiful Edible Gardenhttp://thechalkboardmag.com/cuttings-from-the-beautiful-edible-garden
http://thechalkboardmag.com/cuttings-from-the-beautiful-edible-garden#commentsThu, 14 Mar 2013 10:00:17 +0000http://thechalkboardmag.com/?p=26160What we would give to have Stefani Bittner and Leslie Bennett digging in our backyards. This stellar duo owns Star Apple Edible Gardens, one of San Fransico's foremost edible garden design firms. We love that they not only help home-owners to design edible gardens - no matter how small - but offer maintenance services to help families keep gardens healthy, productive and beautiful as well! Sounds like a dream.Leslie and Stefani have penned The Beautiful Edible Garden, a resource for those of us who live beyond the reach of their Bay Area services. In the book, they outline dozens of brilliant ideas for home gardeners, including those of us who barely qualify but have the smallest of dirt patches we want to dig on into. The ladies are sharing the ideas below with us and watch for more of Star Apple on TCM in the future - we just can't get enough!It’s easy to make your garden both beautiful and productive by swapping out ornamental plants for plants you can eat! This time of year, we love to plant our cutting gardens with plants that can be used in the kitchen and in floral arrangements that bring the garden’s beauty indoors. You won’t feed your family each night with edible flowers but…]]>http://thechalkboardmag.com/cuttings-from-the-beautiful-edible-garden/feed3Green Goddess: Planting An Edible Garden With Weelicioushttp://thechalkboardmag.com/green-goddess-planting-an-edible-garden-with-weelicious
http://thechalkboardmag.com/green-goddess-planting-an-edible-garden-with-weelicious#commentsMon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:42 +0000http://thechalkboardmag.com/?p=23352Weelicious founder Catherine McCord is all about cultivating happy, healthy eaters from a young age and the root of her healthy family food starts in the garden. She points out that kids are more likely to try and enjoy food that they grow—kale, beets, carrots, peas, you name it. If they plant the seeds and harvest it, kids take pleasure in preparing cooking and eating it, too. It’s a great foundation for building adventurous eaters and healthy food. So, we stopped by to visit with Catherine and her gardening guru Lauri Kranz of Edible Gardens LA and see her gardening prowess in action. After we planted heirloom peas, curly and dinosaur kale and romanesco, Catherine whipped up a delicious green smoothie that is one of her family’s favorites.

The Chalkboard: What was your experience gardening before you met Lauri and planted your first box?

Catherine McCord: My grandmother was a professional landscaper and my mother had her hands in the garden at any given chance. I never really caught the bug, though. I have always had an herb garden, but when I had my kids and saw how much they loved being in the dirt and understanding how fruits and vegetables grow, I was hooked.

TC: Did you always have a green thumb? What inspired you to build an edible garden at your house?

CM: Green thumbs must skip a generation - or two, in my case. I have had pots of herbs and vegetables in my yard for years, but there were several plants that just wouldn't grow. When I met Lauri from Edible Gardens LA, that all changed.

TC: What is the best part of having a home garden?

CM: The best part is watching my kids choose the foods they want to grow and then devouring them as soon as they're ready to pick. Being able to pick your meal right out of your garden is a gift.

TC: What lessons do you feel your kids have learned from gardening?

CM: Patience. When my son was around two years old, he would just walk up and yank a baby pepper off the vine before it was fully matured. Over the years, he learned that it takes water, sunshine and a lot of patience in order to eat something at the peak of perfection!

TC: How has having an edible garden changed your attitude towards food, cooking and how your family eats?

CM: Kids can get really picky around two and three years old, but when my kids realized they could grow their own foods and eat them, a lot of those behaviors went away. I didn't need to force them to eat their greens. They'd just go outside and pick them right off the vine and munch away. In the summer, we grow a trellis of beans and every morning walking to the car for school, they grab a handful to munch on.

TC: What are some of your favorite things to make that include your edible garden ingredients?

CM: Smoothies! I dump everything from kale to beet greens in smoothies. Salads, too. The kids like to pick things like peppers, cherry tomatoes, lemon cucumbers and more out of the garden and then chop them up for a great big salad.

TC: What would you say to someone who is on the fence about getting into planting their first edible garden?

CM: I would start small. Buy a terra cotta plant with your favorite herb, and love and nurture it. The benefits of gardening go way beyond the food. It's empowering and feels like such a major achievement.

TC: What are some of your favorite places to shop and get goods associated with the garden? Any great gift ideas for people who have family members or friends who love to garden?

CM: I really love Sunset Nursery. Instead of buying flowers for family and loved ones, I tend to by trees and plants for their yard. I just love Japanese maple trees or a big pot with several herbs in it.

TC: You honestly seem like you can do it all—what are you tips for balancing work, family, relationships, friendships, etc?

CM: Probably that you can't have it all at once. Something will always suffer. I try to be realistic about my own expectations of myself and those others have of me. If you can take the time to give yourself a break, you will hopefully enjoy life much more.]]>http://thechalkboardmag.com/green-goddess-planting-an-edible-garden-with-weelicious/feed1